Chapter 8 - Bella

After making a stop at Sam and Emily's to see if they'd cover for me if Charlie called, I decided to call Charlie myself. He was okay with the fact that I was staying on the Reservation that night, especially since he was working all night. After getting off the phone with Charlie, I bagged up some of the cookies that I'd made earlier and Jared and I headed out. I let Jared drive my truck, especially since I didn't know where Jared lived.

We drove for a few minutes and the Jared pulled into a long driveway. When we got to the end of the driveway, we parked in front of a beautiful log cabin. "It's beautiful, Jared." I told him, as we climbed out of the truck.

Jared walked around the truck and stood beside me. "Thanks. My parents gave it to me when they decided to move to Seattle." He told me.

"Why'd they move?" I asked him.

"For work. They're both married to their jobs." He said. "When I phased for the first time, they didn't even notice that I was gone for an entire week." I felt bad for Jared. If it had been me, Charlie definitely would have noticed if I'd been gone for an entire week.

I turned and looked at him. "So, you gonna show me the inside of this house of yours or are we gonna stay outside all night?" I asked him.

He smiled at me before he grabbed my hand. "Come on." He said, leading me towards the house and inside. When we walked inside, we were immediately in the living room. The room was painted a nice turquoise color and there was a large sectional couch, a recliner, coffee table and a flatscreen tv over the fireplace.

"It's beautiful." I said, barely above a whisper.

"Would you like a tour?" He asked me. I nodded. "Okay so obviously this is the living room." He told me and I laughed. He led me down a short hallway and we walked into the kitchen. It was a decent sized kitchen. It had definitely been updated than from what it probably was originally. There was a little breakfast nook in the bay window next to the sliding glass door, that led out back. There was a small kitchen island in the middle. The sink, some counter space and then the stove. It was a standard one. Next to that was a double oven. That gave the kitchen three ovens. "My mom used to cook a lot in here." He told me.

"It's wonderful. It's pretty much what I would envision for my dream kitchen." I told him. I felt a slight surge in excitement come from him. I turned to look at him. "Does that excite you?" I asked and he raised an eyebrow at me. "The idea of me cooking in your kitchen." I clarified. He nodded. "Maybe I'll cook you breakfast." I whispered.

I thought I heard a playful growl come from him. He led me back down the hallway and up the short flight of stairs just off from the living room. When we got to the top of the stairs, we walked into the room that was across from the stairs. It was a standard sized bedroom. "This was my room growing up." He told me.

"It's nice." I said. We walked back out into the hallway and kept walking. He pointed out the hallway bathroom before we continued down the hallway.

When we got to the end of the hallway Jared turned and looked at me. "This is my room." He said.

He let go of my hand and I walked into the room. It was painted the most beautiful shade of blue that I'd ever seen. The color wasn't that far off from the one in the living room. The curtains that hung over the two windows were turquoise. They were beautiful. In between the two windows was a California King-sized bed. The bedding was turquoise as well. I secretly wondered if Jared had picked it. The dressers and nightstands that were in the room were white, but it wasn't a bright white. "Jared, this room is breathtaking." I told him.

I could hear him walk into the room as I stood there just taking everything in. I could feel him getting closer. The next thing I knew, his hands were on my hips. "Do you like it?" He asked me.

I slowly turned in his arms, and looked into his eyes. "I love it. Did you paint it or was it your parents?" I asked him, never taking my eyes off of him.

"My parents. But I like the color. It's not one you see very often." He told me.

We stood there staring at each other for what seemed like forever. Never saying anything. After a while, I cleared my throat. "So, movie?" I asked him.

He nodded. "Sure." He said, taking my hand again and leading me back downstairs.

Jared and I each picked one of our favorite movies. I thought it was great because it gave us a chance to show the other something we liked. I put the first movie in while Jared went to make popcorn. When he came back, he climbed onto the lounger part of the sectional while I sat beside him curling my legs up under me. Sometime during the movie, I reached into the popcorn bowl at the same time as Jared and when our hands touched this time, I felt a spark. It was the first time that it had happened. I made a mental note to ask Uncle Quil about it.

By the time the movie was over, the popcorn bowl was on the coffee table and I was curled into Jared's side. We decided to talk for a bit before watching my movie pick. We talked about our families. I learned that Jared's parents were professors at the University of Washington in Seattle. Now I could understand why they'd decided to move there. I also learned that Jared and Paul were close. He considered Paul his best friend. Neither of them had come from overly-loving families and they'd somehow bonded over it when they'd phased. I told him all about how eccentric Renee was and that growing up I was practically the adult. I told him about Phil and the decision that I'd made a year and a half prior to move in with Charlie. We never once talked about the Cullen's and I was grateful for that. It wasn't like I still loved Edward but I didn't not love him either. It would be hard to explain.

During the second movie, I'd somehow ended up with my head on Jared's chest and he had an arm wrapped around me. I could feel his fingertips running up and down my back. It felt amazing. I knew deep down that Jared and I wouldn't be just friends for long.

I guess that I'd fallen asleep at some point during the movie, because when I opened my eyes, Jared was carrying me up the stairs. "I fell asleep?" I asked.

"Yeah. About halfway through the movie. Do you want me to put you in the guest room?" He asked.

I thought for a minute. I wasn't sure how he was going to react to what I was about to ask. "I want to sleep beside you." I said.

He nodded. "My bed it is." He said with a smirk. Stupid wolves.

Jared made his way into his bedroom and sat me down on his bed. He walked over to his dresser and pulled out some clothes before coming back over to me. He handed them to me. "I figured you didn't have anything to sleep in. You change. I'm going to go lock up." He said before turning and walking out the room. I stood up and walked into the bathroom to change clothes. It was a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I changed into the t-shirt and decided against the sweatpants. When I walked out of the bathroom, Jared was sitting on the edge of the bed. He let out a playful growl. "You are making things very difficult right now." He said.

I smirked at him. "I don't usually sleep in pants." I told him.

He held his hand out to me. "Come here." He said and I walked over to him. Once he held my hand, he pulled me so that I was standing between his legs. He reached up with his free hand and gently cupped my cheek. I found myself leaning into his touch. It was almost automatic. "I have patrol starting at five but I should be back before you wake up. If not, make yourself at home, here." He said.

"Are you sure?" I asked quietly.

He nodded. "Yes. Your my imprint. This is technically your home now too…even if you don't live here." He told me.

I couldn't believe it. "Thank you Jared. That's very kind." I said.

"We should get some sleep." He said. I nodded. We both climbed into the bed and Jared turned the light out. I curled into his side and laid my head on his chest. "Good night Bella." He said.

"Good night Jared." I said before drifting off to sleep.

A/N: What do you guys think? You like Jared's house?